Moderate earthquake hits eastern Taiwan

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

An earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale rattled eastern Taiwan on Friday.

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There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The epicentre of the quake, which struck at 5.05 pm (0905 GMT) was about seven kilometres northeast of Hualien on the eastern coast, at a depth of six kilometre (3.7 miles), the Central Weather Bureau said in a statement.

Earthquakes occur frequently in Taiwan, which lies on a seismically active stretch of the Pacific basin.

One of Taiwan's worst-recorded quakes occurred in September 1999. Measuring 7.6, it killed more than 2,400 people and destroyed 50,000 buildings.